Although a Florida court likely sealed the fate of Shine Fights third event, “Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas,” the pay-per-view event officially was canceled because its promoter did not meet regulatory requirements.

The North Carolina Boxing Authority canceled the May 15 event – scheduled for Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C. – because Shine Fights officials did not provide the remainder of a bond required to cover fighter purses and did not provide a ringside physician, an official said.

“The show was canceled over concerns [about] the fighters’ safety and well-being,” Terrance Merriweather, the superintendent of the North Carolina Boxing Authority, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Boxing promoter Don King dealt a near-fatal blow to the event when a Florida judge ruled that boxer and Shine Fights main-event competitor Ricardo Mayorga was in violation of a previous contract with King’s company and was not allowed to fight MMA veteran Din Thomas. Shine officials argued that the deal was relevant only to boxing, not MMA, though King and the judge disagreed.

Rumors of the event’s cancellation swirled just hours before the card, which featured other notables such as Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Braulio Estima, was scheduled to begin. Commission officials put a halt to the event at 6:50 p.m. ET on Saturday after its 6 p.m. start time was pushed back three times.

According to Merriweather, promoters are required to provide a minimum bond of $10,000 at least 30 days prior to an event. The promoter has until two hours prior to show time to post a bond for the remainder of fighter purses.

“I thought we worked through that process and everything, but then the commission saw that we were without the main event, and he got concerned and didn’t want to move forward, which we’re all surprised at,” Shine Fights CEO Price told MMAjunkie.com on Saturday night. “Pay-per-view [outlets were] willing to move forward. They had no problems.

“We were ready to go. We were literally ready to go.”

Merriweather said the commission was in close contact with Price throughout the day and informed him of what was needed to stage the event.

“[Price] said he was tied up in Florida and dealing with some issues there, and he was going to charter a private flight to North Carolina,” Merriweather said. “Originally, we expected him at 4:30 [p.m.]. That time was pushed back to 8:30; after that it was pushed back to 9:30.

“However, we hadn’t received the purses or … [seen] the doctor to make sure these fighters were taken care of.”

Shine Fights broadcaster Karen Bryant initially reported that event fighters would be paid 25 percent of their “show” money, though she later clarified that the figure might not hold for all the fighters.

Merriweather said that to his knowledge, none of the event’s fighters have been paid.

Thomas, however, today told MMAjunkie.com that Shine is “overnighting” a check to his manager.

“I don’t know how much it’s for, but my manager says everything is all good,” said the fighter, who learned of the event’s cancellation via Twitter. “I’m obviously disapointed I didn’t get to choke [Mayorga] out on national TV, but Shine still stepped up.

“Most promoters would have been off in Costa Rica sipping martinis.”

The UFC veteran said he needs a break and will focus on training fighters from his two schools in Florida.

“They deserve a little bit of my attention, as opposed to me being selfish,” he said.

Price said Saturday’s disaster is not the end of Shine Fights (though matchmaker Ron Foster told MMAjunkie.com he has resigned his position with the company because of Saturday’s events). However, Price is undecided whether he’ll appeal the Florida judge’s ruling.

“Absolutely not,” Price said Saturday when asked if Shine Fights is done. “My background is finance. I always make sure that if I’m going to [run] a company, it has to be well-capitalized. We are well-capitalized, and we are excited about throwing a fight this summer and getting the ball rolling again and giving the fans fights they want to see.”

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.